Part of 1. 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 1:56 pm on 31 January 2017.
I think he sat down when he heard the words ‘Nigel Farage’ being uttered in the Chamber—the master of megaphone diplomacy and somebody who is Donald Trump’s representative on earth at the moment. From my perspective, the words I have chosen, I believe, have been appropriate and I think they are self-evident to most people in Britain. As I said yesterday, if circumstances change, the circumstances surrounding the visit may well change as well, although given the events of the last few days—well, Members can make up their own minds about what’s been happening in the US. We still have no real clarity on what it means even for British passport holders, despite what Boris Johnson said yesterday. I think there are issues for the Prime Minister. The first question is: when did she know about this? If it was Friday, did she make representations? When did she know about the conditions that were attached to the executive order and, if so, did she make representations for British citizens and British passport holders? Why, when she was asked about the order, did she simply say, ‘Well, this is a matter for the US’? If it had been any other country, she would not, I believe, have made that response. Why did it take so long for Boris Johnson to get on the phone to clarify the position, even though it appears it’s not quite as clear as he has suggested in Parliament? These are all questions, I think, that the Prime Minister has to answer. Of course we have to have a relationship with the US Government. Of course we will continue our relationship with the US businesses who invest in Wales. Wales is open to US business, but that does not mean that we should say nothing about policies that are put in place with which we disagree. We have not done that with countries like China, we have not done that with countries like Russia. It is right, then, that we should also make our views known when we disagree with something that the US does, rather than be quiet and sit in the corner. That, I believe, is not the right way for the UK to conduct its affairs.